Legacy of the Legend
by The Unrealist
Summary: Solid Snake is sent into a remote island to deal with a terrorist threat calling itself Force Excelsior...yet it's not the Snake we know. Chapter 12 is up, two boss fights in a row! Working now on C13, a possible long wait coming up.
1. Chapter 1: A New Beginning

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters that Konami has made. I do, however, own the completely wild-ass-imagination characters you see here. This does not include the main protagonist.

Also, please forgive me if any of the characters seem to be the wrong age. This is set as an alternative story at the same time as MGS4.

A lot of the equipment used is made-up. I felt it might be good if I moved away from using real-life weaponry. Plus I get to do interesting things with them. But I will not remove the two signature handguns of the series.

Sections italicized and center-aligned are the protagonist's inner thoughts. Stuff written like a playscript in italics is Nano-communication.

**Legacy of the Legend**

**Chapter 1: A New Beginning**

A young man in a Sneaking Suit sat on the lower of a bunk bed, stripping and reassembling a Heckler & Koch Mk23. His blue eyes focused intently on the weapon. It was old, having seen its way through battle upon battle, and it must have fired more than fifty thousand rounds in its life. Yet the man, who now reassembled the weapon and holstered it, would never get rid of it. This weapon came with a history.

_I didn't ask to be here. I came because I felt I had to. That I owed it to these people. There's no denying that they fight for a good cause, but is it my cause? "We're not tools of the government or anyone else". How often had that maxim been drilled into my head? Was I being a tool of these people by agreeing to their request? Or did I actually choose to be here…was I fighting for what I believed in?_

The man stood up as two others walked in the door. One of them was in his late fifties, and had a rough face which had evidently seen too many battles, too many deaths. His military officer's uniform was immaculate. The other had blond hair that reached down to his shoulder-blades, and was dressed in a FOXHOUND Skull Suit. On his back was a long, straight blade in a sheath.

The man in uniform spoke. "Solid Snake. Good to see you here."

The man in the Sneaking Suit raised one eyebrow. "Solid Snake? I don't deserve that name…well, not yet. Solid Snake was my father, and in no way do I surpass him, Colonel Campbell."

Roy Campbell looked surprised. "Alright, fair enough…Snake."

"So, Colonel, why have you dragged the son of a legendary mercenary out from a peaceful life, to an island so small it can't be plotted on a map, which you call a base of operations?" Snake asked.

"Raiden, you tell him," Campbell said to the man in the Skull Suit, "I have a few things to take care of."

Campbell turned on his heel and walked out the door, leaving Snake and Raiden alone together.

Raiden sat down on a bunk facing Snake. "Do you remember the incident at the Big Shell in 2009?"

"Of course. My father told me all about it. If I recall, he had the honor of working with you," Snake replied.

"The honor was mine. I wouldn't have survived that mission if not for Solid Snake."

Raiden unsheathed his blade, and it hummed as he looked at its reflective surface.

"He gave me this," Raiden muttered, remembering the events at the Big Shell.

Raiden sheathed the blade and turned back to Snake.

"Before I tell you anything, let's get the formalities out of the way. Welcome to Philanthropy, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending the threat of Metal Gear. Founded by the allies of your father who survived Shadow Moses, and now expanded to include the ones from Big Shell.

"Meaning you and Rosemary," Snake replied.

"Yeah, us. Anyway, down to briefing. The situation is this. Do you have nanos? I'd rather nobody be able to eavesdrop," Raiden said.

"Of course," Snake replied, "I'm on frequency 141.80."

-INITIATING TRANSMISSION – 140.29 TO 141.80-

**Raiden: **_This is Raiden. Are you reading me, Snake?_

**Snake: **_Loud and clear. So, what's the situation, Raiden?_

**Raiden: **_Well, while our two tech-experts, Rose and Otacon – you do know who Otacon is, right?_

**Snake: **_Of course. I know everyone involved in Shadow Moses and Big Shell. Go on._

**Raiden: **_Anyway. While they were searching for leads on new Metal Gear prototypes, a website came up. The thing is…whoever made it specifically addressed us. Right after we read the message, an e-mail came into Otacon's inbox with a list of their threats and demands._

**Snake: **_Let me guess, this is going to involve a group of freaks who somehow have possession of a Metal Gear, and one of their threats involves launching a nuclear missile._

**Raiden: **_Doesn't it always? Anyway, this group is calling itself Force Excelsior – that's a Latin word meaning 'higher'. From what we've been able to gather, they're under the command of Liquid Snake…or Revolver Ocelot…however you look at it…ugh, let's call him Liquid Ocelot. You know who I mean, anyway._

**Snake: **_Of course I do. Now tell me more about them and their demands._

**Raiden: **_They comprise a large mercenary force, as well as seven elite soldiers, kind of like the Shadow Moses takeover force. Their elite members consist of:_

_The Infernal Pyroclast, a deadly and destructive wielder of flamethrowers and explosives. _

_The Unseen Seer, a direct descendant of The End, and the greatest sniper in the modern world._

_The Furious Edge, master of knives and a fearsome swordsman._

_The Holy Skyreacher, a skilled pilot of any airborne vehicle._

_The Shadowed Darkness, a stealthy fighter who uses dark environments to instill fear in his enemies._

_The Metallic Barrage, a soldier who feels no recoil from weapons and expends ammunition at a terrifying rate._

_And the man in charge of them all, Liquid Ocelot. You've heard of him, specialist in torture and interrogation, unparalleled skill with revolvers, and master of ricochets. He's dropped a lot of the cowboy attitude since Big Shell, though._

-ENDING TRANSMISSION-

"Some group," Snake muttered aloud.

"I know. Dead Cell was bad enough…now we have to deal with this lot," Raiden sighed.

"What do you mean, _we?_" Snake asked.

"I'm coming with you. You think after all the help your father gave me, I won't repay the favor?" Raiden answered.

"Well then…It's an honor to be working with you, Raiden," Snake replied, "And you still haven't told me about their demands."

"Right, sorry. I'll talk openly this time…extended nano-communication gives me a headache," Raiden said.

"Their demands are these: Firstly, Philanthropy is to hand over the data of all the Metal Gear models your father destroyed. Secondly, they demand the remains of ex-US president George Sears, Solidus Snake. To top it off they want a sum of one billion dollars, and they say that if these demands are not met within 72 hours, they will launch nuclear strikes at the US, and some other major cities worldwide. They are also threatening to execute someone we've been trying to track down for some time," Raiden said.

"Who is it?" asked Snake.

"Olga Gurlukovich's daughter…Anya Gurlukovich," said Raiden heavily.

"What!?" exclaimed Snake

"I know. It's definitely her, too. We have photographic evidence, plus they sent her blood sample for a DNA match. 100 positive," Raiden said.

Snake had nothing to say, but his eyes told Raiden everything. He was in.

"We leave in three days. Get some rest, tomorrow the Colonel will brief you on your objectives," Raiden said, as he got up and walked out.

Rain lashed against the windows, the sea pounded against the island's shore, and Solid Snake II fell into a deep sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: War Preparations

**Legacy of the Legend**

**Chapter 2: War Preparations**

Snake woke up at 6:30AM the next day. He was instantly alert. He got out of bed and stood up.

He looked just like a younger version of his father. The same blue eyes, the same ragged mullet, and the same steely glint in his eyes that told people that this was not a man whose wrong side you wanted to get on. He was younger than his father had been during Shadow Moses, but no less experienced. Solid Snake I had trained him since the age of 12, and told him countless times the story of his own adventures, from Zanzibar to Outer Heaven, to Shadow Moses, to the USS Discovery, and finally the Big Shell.

After a quick shower, and after he had put a uniform thoughtfully provided by the Colonel, Snake stepped out of the dormitory into the open air.

A fine mist hung in the air from last night's rainstorm. The sun shone brightly in the sky. Philanthropy's private island was more of an atoll, and they had severely modernized it. A tall tower housed a radar dish to warn the occupants of any incoming ships, and also contained a broadband internet antenna.

A large concrete building served as the main briefing room. Snake walked towards it, his boots digging into the wet sand.

The interior if the building looked like the inside of Arsenal Gear, from his father's descriptions of it. A cool turquoise light bathed the entire room. Computer panels were tiled across the walls, occasionally beeping or making another noise to indicate that they were actually hard at work.

By now it was 7:30 Raiden, Colonel Campbell, and Rose were sitting at a glass-and-metal desk in the middle of the room. Snake walked in and took a seat.

"Good morning, Snake. Sleep well?" asked the Colonel.

"Not too bad, considering the rain," Snake replied.

"Raiden's already given you the basic summary of what's going on. I'm going to tell you precisely what you're up against," the Colonel said, turning a large, wall-mounted monitor on with a remote.

A picture of an island, noticeably larger than the one they were currently on, appeared.

"This is Force Excelsior's island. Similar to Shadow Moses. The bulk of the island is taken up by a large fortress. However, the surrounding area is jungle. There's also a beach…and if you pull this off successfully I dare say you deserve a decent holiday," the Colonel continued.

He pressed a button on the remote, and a picture of something nobody in the room wanted to see was displayed on the screen. The thing was the size of a three-storey building. It was hunchbacked, yet appeared streamlined. It was humanoid in shape, but its head was mounted on a long, reticulated neck. The entire thing was armor-plated.

"Onward. Obviously the most important part of this whole thing is what you're up against. The complex is manned by some eight hundred men, and Raiden tells me you've already heard about the freak show in charge. And I'm sorry to break it to you…but yes. They are in possession of a Metal Gear."

"What are the specifications, Colonel?" asked Raiden, taking the words from Snake's mouth.

"They call it Metal Gear Riker. It the most advanced model I've ever seen…seriously. This model is capable of land operation by its legs, and it can operate underwater just like RAY. Even worse, it's capable of flying just like a helicopter – fully capable of VTOL. The unit uses little to no hydraulics. Instead, the movement is powered by artificial muscle-like fibers which contract when an electric current is passed through them. It's highly agile and durable. This thing is worse than RAY and REX put together," the Colonel said.

"Armament?" asked Snake.

"The main weapon is, of course, a nuclear ballistic missile, propelled by a railgun similar to REX. The railgun is mounted on the back of the unit. For conventional warfare, the model has eight packs of rockets positioned on the shoulders and knees. Each rocket pack contains 64 rounds. There are four ball-turret mounted chainguns on the body, and two coilguns mounted on the arms."

"That isn't the worst of it though. On its chin is mounted what Otacon _insists _on calling a High-Powered Electrical Energy Multipurpose Weapon System. I prefer to use the term Lightning Cannon. It works by aiming a laser at the intended target. The laser – I don't know exactly how it works, but it creates a small area on the target that is negatively charged, as well as exciting the air molecules around it in such a way that they become conductors of electricity. Then it emits a 20,000 volt arc of electricity which travels down the tunnel of conductive air towards the negatively charged area, annihilating the target," the Colonel read from his notes.

Everyone sat in shocked silence. That thing could mean the end of the world as people knew it. Nobody could fathom how so much destructive potential could be packed into one machine.

"Colonel…does this…_thing_…have any weak points?" Snake asked, almost afraid of what the Colonel would say.

"It does, but not to the extent of REX's design flaw. Firstly, the armor plating on the unit is weak, so that it is light enough to fly. Secondly, the artificial muscle fibers are very weak, and they require a constant supply of water to run efficiently. Lastly, and most importantly, the left leg has a hollowed out section just big enough for a missile. This section is where the fuel is pumped into the unit. If you can get a missile in there, Metal Gear will blow apart from the inside, and even if not, you'll damage some critical components," the Colonel said, looking at another page in his notes.

"Gear up, both of you. Otacon has your equipment in the armory," he finished.

Raiden and Snake got up, and left, walking towards the armory together. As they walked along the path leading to the armory, Raiden spoke.

"The old man never went up against anything like this…I wonder if he'd be able to pull it off," he said.

"I don't know. More importantly, do you think _we _can manage it?" asked Snake. Raiden was silent.

_He's afraid. To be honest, I am too. My father's stories, his vivid descriptions of the Metal Gears he had fought…none of them even came close to what I had just heard. He had trained me for this. He trained me to be as good as him._

_But did he train me to surpass him?_

They reached the armory, where they found Otacon busy assembling a rifle. He looked up from his work as they entered.

Otacon was the most changed out of all of them. His sister's death had affected him deeply, and it showed. There was stubble on his normally clean-shaven face, and his hair had grown longer. His skin was pale. His eyes were slightly bloodshot, but they blazed with a determination nobody had seen before Emma Emmerich's death.

"Hi, Raiden," he said, as Raiden stepped into the shade of the armory.

Snake followed a minute later, and extended his hand in greeting. Together, they performed the secret handshake that Otacon and Solid Snake I had done during the Big Shell incident. The gestures came flawlessly, Solid Snake I having taught them to his son and drilled it to perfection. It symbolized the bond between Solid Snake I and Otacon – they were friends, allies, and comrades-in-arms at the same time.

When they pulled their hands apart, Otacon pushed toward Raiden a large steel box on wheels.

"Your new exoskeleton suit. Similar to what Olga Gurlukovich had on the Big Shell when she was disguised as the Ninja. It's built on technology from your skull suit, and has a layer of lightweight armor plating made from a crystalline/ceramic composite. And, of course, you'll be wanting this back…" Otacon said, as he handed Raiden his H.F. Blade.

Otacon handed them both silenced Beretta M92F pistols with Laser Aiming Modules.

"Just like Solid Snake had on the Tanker. These fire tranquilizer rounds, which stop you from having to kill too many people, and it avoids leaving trails of blood for enemies to spot. I recommend going for the head or heart, shots to the limbs generally take a long time to go into effect," Otacon said.

Otacon now reached down into a drawer inside the desk, from which he extracted two green-painted metal briefcases. He opened them both.

Nestled in a protective Styrofoam padding were several parts of a modular weapon. Otacon removed the parts from one case and quickly and expertly snapped them together.

The result was a Submachinegun/PDW type weapon in a bullpup configuration. It was black and green in color, and about half a meter in length. The trigger group was somewhat severely angled, and the base of the grip was connected to the front of the magazine well by a guiding rail which served to aid the shooter in inserting a magazine at the correct angle. Attached to the right side of the weapon, near the muzzle, was a tactical flashlight/LAM unit. A quick-attach silencer was mounted on the barrel. There was a vertical forward grip to assist with aiming and accuracy.

"The M34 Caseless PDW," Otacon announced, holding the unloaded, fully assembled weapon up. "It's a new marvel of engineering – along with some new features from yours truly. It fires caseless ammunition at about 15 rounds a second in full auto, slower in burst mode. You've got options for Safe, Semi-auto, 3-round-burst, and full-auto here," he said, demonstrating the selector dial on the weapon's right side.

"You'll get a chance to play around with them later today. Take a look at the magazines," he said, handing Snake and Raiden a loaded magazine each. They somewhat resembled the magazine of the old FN P90.

Snake and Raiden took all their gear back to the dormitory room. There, Snake busied himself by assembling his new PDW, and Raiden tried on his exoskeleton.

"So, how do I look?" asked Raiden, as he finished clipping on the last piece of armor.

"Not bad. But can you do anything interesting?" replied Snake, with a hint of a challenge in his voice.

Raiden chuckled. "Watch the master," he said.

Raiden bent his knees slightly and jumped. The suit's power sent him flying upwards, and his head slammed into the wooden ceiling, cracking one of the beams. Raiden landed in a crumpled heap on the floor.

"Ow," Raiden muttered, removing his helmet and massaging the back of his skull.

"Sorry, what were you saying, _master_?" mocked Snake, who was struggling to stop himself bursting into laughter.

"You just wait. I'll show you what this thing can really do, outside," Raiden said, trying to regain his dignity.

"Sure thing. But are you sure you're in the right _state of mind _to go flying? Won't that injury make you susceptible to _altitude sickness?_" Snake teased.

"Shut up and get out there, Snake," Raiden muttered.

Snake got up and walked slowly out of the dormitory. "I'll give you five minutes to let the pain go away," he said, chuckling.

Raiden threw a pillow at Snake, but it didn't make contact. "Bastard," Raiden said in a low voice. "Solid Snake was never that bad…was he? Well…it was kind of obvious he didn't like me that much on Big Shell…but _he _didn't take the piss out of me every time I slipped up. Or, not to my face, at least. But is it any better to do it behind my back? Whatever. I've got a lesson to teach that kid."

Raiden walked out of the dormitory, into the sunlight.

"Ready for a demonstration of the pinnacle of technology, Snake?" asked Raiden arrogantly.

"Let's just hope you don't hit _your _pinnacle on anything else," Snake retorted.

Raiden grunted, and launched himself into the air. He landed right on top of the dormitory, and sprang off the roof, grabbing onto a tree branch. He swung once, flew off it, and bounced off the wall of the dormitory, landing behind Snake with his H.F. Blade drawn and pointed at his throat.

"Now would be a very good time to take all that back," Raiden said, grinning.

Snake was silent for a while, and then he said, "All right. You win. I take it back." Even after watching Raiden smack his head on the ceiling, he couldn't deny that his demonstration had been impressive.

"You see that tree over there?" asked Raiden, pointing to a tree about a hundred meters away. "I bet you ten bucks you can't shoot the bird's nest off it."

"You're on," Snake said, cocky and overconfident, "Why exactly do you want to shoot down a bird's nest anyway?"

"That bird is a menace. It's nearly taken my eye out twice, it stole Campbell's gun once and Otacon is allergic to it. Trust me, shoot it down," Raiden said.

Snake slipped the magazine into its well on his PDW, and flicked on the red-dot sight scope. He adjusted the magnification to maximum, set the selector switch to single-shot and dropped to one knee. Holding his breath, he pulled the trigger.

The shot, while clipping the edge of the nest, failed to make it explode in the way Raiden had intended. Raiden punched Snake in the shoulder, mocking his failure. Snake sighed and stood up to face Raiden.

"So, you screw up, I screw up. Are we even now?" Snake asked.

"Yeah, I guess so. Come on, let's get something to eat," Raiden suggested as they made their way over to the cafeteria building.

Living on an island, the one thing always in plenty was seafood. Snake and Raiden discussed the upcoming mission over a large seafood pizza.

"So, what time do we cast off tomorrow?" Snake asked.

"Tomorrow? No, Snake, we go tonight, so I suggest you get some sleep before then. We board the _Noble_ at eight, which means by the time we get to the edge of their radar range, it'll be eleven. Another hour and we're inside," Raiden answered, taking a bite from a slice of pizza. The _Noble _was Philanthropy's private boat, generously donated by one of Otacon's friends.

"Gotcha," Snake said.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, and then Raiden broke it.

"Snake…I was meaning to ask you…" he began.

"Yeah? What?" Snake asked.

"You know Meryl, right?" Raiden asked.

"Of course I do…why?"

"Well, I was just wondering…was she your mother?" Raiden blurted out.

"No. Well, I mean, I don't think so. Do I look anything like her?" asked Snake, clearly surprised.

"Nah…not really. Sorry. Just…forget I ever asked," stuttered Raiden, embarrassed.

"Forget it. Although sometimes I do wish I knew. I don't want to find out that I'm…you know…like my father. Like…what he _is,_" Snake muttered.

"No chance, Snake. No way in hell are _you _a clone of _anybody_," Raiden said, and his voice was so firm that Snake believed him.

Snake changed the topic. "About this mission…I'm nervous, Raiden."

"So am I," Raiden said, "Everyone's nervous right before they do something like this. Now go and get some rest, I'll join you in a minute."

Snake walked out of the cafeteria and back towards the dormitory.

He lay down and was asleep within minutes.


	3. Chapter 3: Calm before the Storm

**Legacy of the Legend**

**Chapter 3: Calm before the Storm**

Snake woke up at 7:00PM, and Raiden followed suit about five minutes later. They were both fully dressed in their combat gear – Raiden in his skull-busting exoskeleton, and Snake dressed in his father's Sneaking Suit. They quickly gathered their gear, as a codec transmission came in to both.

-INITIATING TRANSMISSION – 140.85 TO 140.29 AND 141.80-

**Campbell: **_Snake? Raiden? You ready to go?_

**Snake: **_Both of us are good to go, Colonel._

**Campbell: **_Don't ask what happened to the three days I promised. We're all set, and the sooner we get Metal Gear Riker reduced to iron filings the better. I'll be waiting at the dock with Otacon and Rose._

**Snake: **_Copy that, Snake out._

-CONNECTION TO FREQ. 141.80 ENDED-

**Campbell: **_Raiden, keep an eye out for Snake. I'd hate to have to tell Solid Snake I that his son was killed on his first mission._

**Raiden: **_Don't worry, Colonel. I'll keep him safe. Raiden out._

-ENDING TRANSMISSION-

The sun was beginning to set, bathing the island in a warm glow of pink mingled with gold. Snake and Raiden left the dormitory together, their M34 PDWs attached by slings to their backs.

Campbell, Rose and Otacon were waiting at the dock, standing in front of a large, white, modern boat. On its bow was painted the words _USS Noble. _Philanthropy's private boat. It wasn't incredibly comfortable inside since Campbell had insisted on filling every square centimeter of wall with some LCD display of something important, but at least he'd left the carpeting.

They boarded the boat, and Campbell made his way to the wheel. The rest of them went down into the cabin.

"Coffee, anyone?" asked Otacon, and was answered by Snake and Raiden making gestures of assent. Otacon grabbed three cups and in five minutes he, Raiden and Snake each had a steaming cup of coffee in front of them.

Snake tasted some and choked. "What the _hell _is this stuff?" he asked Otacon.

Otacon was visibly offended. "Well, sorry if instant coffee isn't as good as the stuff you're used to…" he retorted.

"Enough arguing. Let's go over the plan one last time," Raiden interrupted.

"Alright. Basically, this is how it goes. We go out until we're just outside the range of the island's detection systems. Once we get as close as we can, you two will be launched by one-man submarines into an underground docking bay. From there you make your way to the surface of the island. Once you're on the surface, infiltrate the enemy fortress, neutralize the terrorist threat, safeguard Anya Gurlukovich, and destroy Metal Gear Riker," Otacon recited.

"You make it sound so easy. Who are our contacts?" asked Snake.

"Campbell and I are your main contacts. He's on frequency 140.85, and I'm on 141.12. Rose will be handling your mission data records – if you learn anything interesting about the terrorists, give her a call on 140.96. I'll also be acting as your technical advisor – if you find a weapon or items you don't know how to use, give me a call," Otacon continued.

"Got it. So…we have another three hours to kill, what do we do?" Snake asked, to nobody in particular.

"Umm…I don't know…anybody want to play poker?" suggested Otacon.

Otacon's suggestion was acted upon, and ended with him losing thirty dollars to Snake and a further twenty-five to Raiden. After discovering that he had brought no money with him, Otacon promised to buy the both of them dinner at a restaurant on the mainland when the mission was over, which seemed to satisfy the two soldiers. Rose had left to keep an eye out for any other ships on the water.

Raiden left, leaving Snake and Otacon alone in the cabin.

"Thanks for the coffee," Snake said, draining the cup.

"No problem," replied Otacon, lost in his thoughts.

"You ok, Otacon? You look a little…tired," said Snake, appearing concerned.

"You ever had somebody really close to you die while you couldn't do a damn thing about it?" asked Otacon, looking into Snake's eyes.

"No…can't say I have," said Snake, knowing full well what this was leading up to.

"I have. It takes a lot out of you. You start wondering, if you'd known that they would die so early, would you have done anything different to them? I know I would have. Emma…what I wouldn't give to spend just one more second with you…" Otacon buried his face in his hands.

"Otacon, listen. I know you regret what happened. But you can't keep attacking yourself for it. That road leads to madness," Snake said, remembering something his father had told him once.

"I guess you're right…yeah. Solid Snake wouldn't want me acting like this," Otacon said, and his face set, his eyes hardened.

"So…anyway…with you being the inventor if the thing, how do you propose I attack Metal Gear?" asked Snake.

"I don't know, I didn't have a hand in making this one. Based on REX, I would say try and disable its targeting and sensory arrays. Also, Raiden should be able to take the armor plating off with that blade of his.

"I assume we'll need explosives to even have a hope in hell of scratching its paintwork?" asked Snake.

"You'll have to procure those on site. The soldiers there have got to be well armed. By the way, they use the same PDW weapons as you do, so you won't be running out of ammo. The problem is your tranquilizer rounds, but you've got enough between you, and try to make them count," said Otacon.

"We should go," he added, "It's almost time to send you and Raiden in.

And they made their way out of the cabin together.


	4. Chapter 4: The Storm

**Legacy of the Legend**

**Chapter 4: The Storm**

It was time. Snake headed down to the lowermost area of the boat, where he found Raiden waiting with Otacon. There were two large, torpedo-shaped objects inside special launching devices. Delivery vehicles.

"Jump in, you two," Otacon ordered, and Snake and Raiden both obeyed. They lay in the delivery vehicle on their backs. Inside was an LCD screen wired to a camera so that they could see where they were going. The vehicle hugged their arms on both sides. They were essentially hollowed-and-pimped-out torpedoes.

"We'll be controlling the delivery vehicle's movements remotely from here. Once you get inside, flip open the protective cover and hit the little green button near your right hand. If for any reason you need the emergency eject, press the red button near your left hand. We can't risk them being spotted, so once you're both out of them and inside the docking bay, I'm initiating the self-destruct mechanism," Otacon said, moving over to the computer terminal.

He tapped a command into the keyboard, and the hatches on both delivery vehicles closed. The vessels were now waterproof and airtight, but they had a ventilation mechanism that provided enough oxygen for 24 hours of breathing.

Otacon snapped off a salute, and Snake and Raiden returned it.

Otacon tapped another command, and clicked the mouse on the confirmation box.

The delivery vehicles began to slide forward inside their firing tubes.

Otacon hit a green button on his console.

The _Noble _shuddered, twice. They were away.

"Good luck, guys," whispered Otacon.

The hatch being made of glass, Snake could easily see Raiden speeding along to the left and behind him. He gave Raiden the thumbs-up, and Raiden returned the gesture.

Snake looked at the display screen and saw a small opening in the side of the island. As he suspected, both vehicles shifted their course to point right at it.

The opening led into a long, winding underwater tunnel. The craft expertly veered its way through without incident, thanks to Otacon's skill.

At long last, the two vehicles met a dead end, the start of the underwater dock. Snake pressed the green button. The hatch opened, and water flooded it. Snake didn't care, his Sneaking Suit repelled water.

Raiden did the same behind him.

The two of them sought refuge behind a large boiler.

"Enjoy the ride?" Raiden asked.

"Kind of. I would have liked some peanuts and an in-flight movie though," Snake joked.

Together, they took their guns out of the waterproof plastic cases they had been packed in. Both of them loaded and cocked their M9s. In the distance, they heard two distinct voices, one of which made Raiden's blood run cold.

"And you're sure nothing's been through here?" asked the first one. Liquid Ocelot.

"No, sir," replied another – this once a mere sentry.

"Keep a lookout. I have to go check on the hostage," Ocelot ordered.

"Sir, yes sir!" snapped the guard, saluting Ocelot.

Ocelot walked away, up a flight of stairs. His arm twitched, and he stopped, surveying the entire dock with an unblinking stare. "Where are you…?" he breathed, slipping one hand behind his back.

Snake and Raiden didn't move a muscle.

"Damned _thing,_" Ocelot muttered, shocking his right arm with a stun gun momentarily. He left the dock.

Snake let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.

"You think he knows we're here?" asked Raiden.

"No idea. I know that arm of his always does funny stuff near my father…but with me, I have no idea," Snake replied, training his M9 on the surroundings.

"Alright, let's go," Raiden said, poking his head out fro behind the boiler.

Three guards patrolled the area, which was the size of a small warehouse. Crates were piled up against the walls in a haphazard fashion. At the back of the room a flight of stairs led to the surface, just as Otacon had stated.

One of the guards seemed to be permanently stationed right at the base of the stairs. He would have to be taken care of, but how to do it without alerting the others?

Snake came up with the idea.

Snake found a small rock on the floor, and tossed it at one of the crates near the guard. It made a loud noise which echoed through the entire dock.

The guard dropped into a combat stance, his PDW up and ready. "What the hell was that?" he muttered, slowly creeping towards the source of the noise.

As soon as he was out of sight of any of his comrades, Snake snapped up his M9, took aim, and pulled the trigger. The dart slammed into the back of the man's neck and the tranquilizer flooded his bloodstream. He was out before he hit the floor.

Snake dragged the body and stashed it inside a large metal crate.

He and Raiden walked up the flight of stairs. It was long, but there were no guards.

They stepped out into the fresh air and midnight sky of the island.

At the top of the stairs was a small guard house. The guard that sat there was so engrossed in whatever explicit publication he was reading that he failed to notice Snake creep up behind him and press a SOCOM to the back of his skull.

"Don't move," Snake ordered in a low, threatening voice.

The guard was visibly afraid. "W-w-what d-do you want?" he blurted, shaking.

"Unload your weapon and put it on the floor," Snake began. The guard complied.

"Hands behind your head," Snake continued. The guard obeyed again.

Snake slipped the knife out of its sheath on the guard's belt. He removed the sheath and slipped it into the webbing on his Sneaking Suit.

"Raiden, come out here and take care of this guy," he called to Raiden, who had been silently waiting in the darkness of the stairway.

As soon as the guard saw the armored, technological demon that was Raiden, with his blade drawn and at the ready, he was so scared that he wet himself and began to cry.

"Oh, shut up," growled Raiden, striking the flat side of his blade against the guard's temple. The man crumpled.

Snake looked at the spreading dark stain near the man's groin.

"I was originally intending to use that uniform…never mind that now," he muttered, rummaging through the guard's pockets for ammo, and finding three spare clips. He gave two to Raiden and kept one for himself.

The guardhouse controlled a barrier that served to block vehicles from continuing along the beaten dirt path. Snake and Raiden followed the path, not actually walking on it but following it while hiding in the dense jungle.

And after fifteen minutes of walking, they saw it.


	5. Chapter 5: First Sight

**Legacy of the Legend**

**Chapter 5: First Sight**

The base was huge, almost the size of Groznyj Grad – although that name meant nothing to either of the two infiltrators. They stood inside a courtyard of sorts, where a few vehicles were parked. The entire area was patrolled by five guards. The base itself loomed at the other end of the courtyard, with several doors indicating possible entry points.

Snake and Raiden hid in the back of a truck, after Raiden had slashed its tires to disable it. The truck was an excellent vantage point since its back faced the front of the base.

"What can you see?" asked Raiden, and Snake pulled out his binoculars. These were a special design by Otacon himself, as they transmitted a live feed to his laptop. Otacon chimed in on the codec.

**Otacon: **_I see…three doors, most likely locked. Solid steel. Even if you did have explosives, I don't know if they could penetrate. Plus that method isn't very stealthy._

**Snake: **_Anything else?_

**Otacon: **_You could wait and see if there are any vehicles coming and sneak in aboard one…but that'll take time…let's see…wait. Left hand corner of your scope. Zoom in._

Snake fiddled with the zoom control and activated maximum magnification at the point Otacon had indicated.

**Otacon: **_Bingo. There's an air vent right there. It's grilled, but Raiden should be able to take care of that. Watch out, though, there's a camera watching over it. I recommend using a Chaff Grenade to-_

Snake lowered his binoculars, brought his M34 PDW up, took aim through the red-dot sight, and let fly a single round. Through the sight, Snake saw the camera spark, and the LED on its side faded.

**Otacon: **_Not very subtle, but admittedly effective._

**Snake: **_What were you saying about Chaff Grenades?_

**Otacon: **_I was saying they can be used to disable electronic equipment…but never mind that now…_

Otacon cut the transmission, and Snake jumped out of the back of the truck. He could see the vent clearly…but there was one annoying guard that seemed to be assigned to watch over it, and he never seemed to stray more than a few meters away.

Snake shot a guard that was standing on a walkway above the vent. The guard pitched forwards…and fell off the walkway to his death. He landed right in front of the main gate with a loud thump.

"Holy shit!" shouted the guard near the vent, and he ran over to investigate. He had barely taken five steps when a dart his chest and he fell sound asleep.

"Raiden, I'll go through this vent. That exoskeleton won't be able to fit, so wait here. I'll go inside and open a door for you," Snake ordered.

"Got it. I'll hold this position. And I'll clear the area too," said Raiden, unsheathing the long, slender blade on his back.

Snake grinned, his eyes reflected in the blade's mirror sheen. He jumped out of the truck-

-and was promptly greeted with a curt "Freeze!"

It was another sentry. "Put your hands behind your head, and turn around. Slowly," he ordered, giving Snake a sharp jab with the barrel of his rifle.

Snake did as the sentry ordered.

"Put your weapon on the-" the guard started to say, but a spray of blood erupted from his neck and a huge laceration appeared on his chest.

Raiden stood there with his blade stained with blood.

Snake rolled his eyes. "Could you not have used the tranquilizer?" he asked.

"Hey, Otacon said to use it sparingly. Besides, nobody pokes a gun into my comrade and lives to talk about it," said Raiden, with a hint of pride in his voice.

They threw the corpse into the back of the truck, and threw a tarpaulin over it. Snake and Raiden ran to the vent without further incident. After Raiden had sliced through the grille, he ran back to hide in the truck.

Snake crawled into the vent, activating the flashlight on his SOCOM. He was inside…alone.


	6. Chapter 6: Building Recon

**Legacy of the Legend**

**Chapter 6: Building Recon**

The vent ended in an entrance to what looked like a cafeteria. Surprisingly the other end was open. Snake was about to crawl out of the vent – it was a particularly tight fit – before two guards walked in.

"God damn, I'm hungry. Who the hell knew guarding a prisoner was such a tiring job?" grumbled the first one.

"It's not that bad…at least she's kind of cute," chuckled the second one. Snake gasped. "She" had to mean Anya Gurlukovich. Snake tensed himself, ready for action.

"I know she is. Problem is the boss doesn't want anything done to her," moaned the first guard, who was now sitting down to enjoy his hearty meal – of instant noodles.

"Ah well. I gotta get back to my post. Cheer up," said the second, and left the cafeteria.

Snake peered out of the vent. The guard was slurping his meal noisily, and was sitting with his back to the vent. Snake crept out of the vent, silent as a shadow, and straightened up. He drew his SOCOM. Pointing it at the back of the man's head, he barked "Freeze!"

The guard flung his hands up in the air.

"Stand up and back away from the table," Snake ordered. The guard hesitated for a second, and then complied grudgingly.

Snake maneuvered around so that he was facing the man, keeping his pistol up the whole time. He shifted his aim so that his gunsights were focused right between the guard's eyes.

The guard, apparently having gained some courage by noticing his assailant was so young – Snake was barely twenty – snapped "Who do you think you are!?"

At that moment, things began to happen – very fast.

The door to the cafeteria opened, and the other guard walked in again, saying "Hey, Jason, I left my – what the hell!?"

Snake reacted instantly. He punched the first guard – Jason – in the stomach, then spun Jason around so that his body acted as a human shield. Bringing his SOCOM to bear, Snake fired at the second guard three times. The rounds caught him in the chest, throat, and forehead. He fell to the ground.

Snake spun Jason around and pointed the SOCOM at his head again.

Jason was far less defiant than he had been ten seconds ago. "P-please don't!" he stuttered, trembling.

"Do you have an access card?" Snake demanded.

"Y-yeah, right here," Jason said, tapping a small pouch on his combat harness. Snake plucked it out, it had a large, white number '1' printed on it.

"Is this high enough to get me access to Anya Gurlukovich's cell?" Snake asked.

"Yeah, but…it won't get you inside. The prison doors use a special locking system. There are two keys, one for each individual cell, and a master key. They have to be turned within three seconds of one another, or the doors won't open," Jason blurted out, unable to control his tongue.

"Where can I get the keys?" asked Snake.

Jason didn't answer.

Snake shifted his aim downwards. The SOCOM was now pointing at Jason's groin.

"Okay, okay! Hell, if you put it that way…" Jason pleaded.

"Just _answer my question!_" barked Snake.

"I have the cell door key. There's a warden officer down in her cell block, he has the master key," Jason said.

"Where's the cell block?" asked Snake.

"Two floors down. There are signs…" Jason said.

"Thanks. By the way, which is the nearest door that opens up to the outside courtyard?"

"Just follow the hallway to the end and turn left," Jason blurted.

Snake whipped out his M9 and shot Jason – in the groin. Jason's eyes widened and a small squeak of pain escaped him – before he fell down, sound asleep. Snake removed his radio and shot it twice, then shut his body in an empty cupboard, forcefully removed the handle, and stuffed the lock with some chewing gum he had found.

Snake knelt down behind the kitchen counter and contacted Raiden.

**Snake: **_Raiden, you there?_

**Raiden: **_Still waiting here in the truck. Everyone else out here, however, is dead._

**Snake: **_You and your stunts. I'm headed towards an entry point. I'll let you in soon._

**Raiden: **_Hurry, Snake. It's cold and dark out here._

Snake chuckled, loud enough for Raiden to hear, before cutting off the transmission. He walked out of the cafeteria, into a long hallway just like that guard had described. At the end of the hallway he turned left and found a heavy steel door secured by three huge bolts. After pulling the blots back, he opened the door.

Raiden was wandering around aimlessly, flourishing his blade at random, with an occasional Japanese-accented "Hi-yah!" every so often.

"Hurry up and get inside, grasshopper," Snake sighed.

Raiden jumped, embarrassed, and stowed his blade in its sheath.

"Umm…I was just…practicing…" he muttered.

"Whatever. I found a lead on Anya. She's being held in a cell block two floors down. I have an access card that'll get us in, and a key for her cell, but we need a master key to actually open it. This place runs on a dual-key system," Snake explained.

"So where can we get the master key?" asked Raiden.

"There's a jail warden officer down in the cell block we need to visit," Snake replied.

"Gotcha. Let's go," Raiden said.

They headed towards the stairs, and began to descend.


	7. Chapter 7: Unforseen Complications

**Legacy of the Legend**

**Chapter 7: Unforeseen Complications**

As Snake and Raiden reached the end of the first flight of stairs, they heard voices from the corridor to the left. They listened intently.

"…I'll leave him to you," said the first voice, that of Liquid Ocelot.

"Sure thing, bossman," replied another voice – this one with a southern American accent.

"Watch yourself around him…if he's half as good as his father it'll be a hard fight," said Ocelot.

"Hah! They don't call me Metallic Barrage for nothing," came the southern-accented voice.

"Report to me if you win. If you lose…well, it's one less paycheck I need to write," said Ocelot, and by the sound of his voice he had walked away.

Snake heard Metallic Barrage's footsteps walk away.

"Should we go after him now?" asked Snake.

"Better now than try it while rescuing Anya," replied Raiden, unsheathing his blade.

Snake and Raiden mad their way down the hallway. It was empty. They turned left and saw a room that looked something like an armory. The door to it was open.

"An armory…we should stock up on firepower if we want to beat this guy easily," said Snake.

They both walked into the armory, and began to head towards a door with a large '1' painted on it, as well as the words 'SNIPER/DESIGNATED MARKSMAN RIFLES'.

Snake had barely gone three steps when a voice roared "NOT SO FAST!!"

The order was quickly followed by a hailstorm of bullets which lasted a whole twenty seconds. Raiden was quick enough to turn to the source of the gunfire and use his blade to deflect most of the incoming rounds.

A tall, muscular man walked towards them. He was wearing a red beret with a five-pointed star pinned to the front. A bullet dangled down from a chain on his neck. His face was battle-worn and sported a graying handlebar mustache as well as a scar which ran down his left cheek. He wore reflective sunglasses that completely prevented anybody from seeing his eyes. But it was his weapon that was truly amazing.

It was an old yet still serviceable model of a light machine gun – the MG51KA4 SAW. Famed for being one of the few fully-automatic weapons of its caliber, the MG51 was notoriously hard to handle. It was intended to be fired while it was resting on its integral bipod. The weapon itself was a scaled-down chaingun – it had three revolving barrels that could deliver a staggering twenty-five rounds per second. But this man had added one interesting feature.

This particular MG51 ran off a huge, seemingly endless belt feed. The belt was looped around the man's chest, creating an almost impenetrable armor around him. The belt itself must have held at least a thousand rounds.

"People call me…The Metallic Barrage!" he announced, adding a five-second burst aimed upwards for effect. Bits of plaster broke free from the roof and rained down.

"This gun is the finest invention in the world. If any of you tried to use it like I do…your arm would break and you'd be thrown backwards! But I use it like you would use a handgun!" he continued.

Snake drew his M34 PDW, and trained it on the man.

"So you're the son of that one who's given the boss so much trouble! He specifically told me to take care of you…but I never expected it would take so little effort. You don't even have a decent weapon!" he shouted.

"Now…let's see if you truly are the son of Solid Snake!" he challenged, and let fly another storm which lasted 10 seconds.

Snake dived into the room with the sniper rifles as the wall behind him was shredded. He didn't bother taking a rifle, as it wasn't going to be useful in his present situation. He opened a link to Campbell.

**Snake: **_Colonel, what do you know about this guy?_

**Campbell: **_The Metallic Barrage. Aged 38 years old, participated in the Iraq War. Apparently recoil from firearms doesn't affect him like they would a normal person. He's strong enough to use that machinegun of his with only one hand._

**Snake: **_How the hell do I beat him?_

**Campbell: **_Making a frontal attack is suicide. I'd recommend trying to flank him. Use the layout of the room to your advantage. If you have any remote explosives you can try planting those on the floor and luring him onto them. Raiden should be able to survive a short barrage from his weapon. Use that time to your advantage._

Snake cut the transmission and hailed Raiden.

**Snake: **_Raiden, listen. You need to keep him distracted so that I can move round and flank him. Try and get his attention away from me – use that sword of yours to block his bullets._

**Raiden: **_Gotcha. Americans…they think the more they fire the more they'll connect…idiots…_

Snake, while wholeheartedly agreeing with Raiden's evaluation, decided not to listen to it. He peeked out, and saw that Raiden was engaged with deflecting bullets – and that Metallic Barrage's back was turned to him. He lifted his PDW and fired off a short burst.

Twelve bullets. Three of them went wide. The rest slammed into the belt of ammunition wrapped around Metallic Barrage's body-

-and didn't injure him at all.

The Metallic Barrage spun round, enraged. "Did you REALLY think that was going to work on ME!?" he roared, sending a fifteen-second burst in Snake's direction.

Snake made a break for another room, across from him. Inside he saw a box labeled 'GRENADES-WP/INCEN' White Phosphorous grenades.

And suddenly, an idea formed in his mind.

He told Raiden to meet him at the room he had originally found the rifles in. Raiden was there instantly, and Snake handed him two of the grenades and outlined his plan. It was risky – but it could win the battle for them.

So it was carried out.

Raiden crept silently out of the room, while avoiding The Metallic Barrage's eyes. Snake, meanwhile, rushed to the corner of the armory and fired his PDW at Metallic Barrage, shouting "You think you can take me? Come and get it!"

Metallic Barrage spun around and saw Snake. He let loose a devastating shower of bullets towards Snake, but Snake had dived behind one of the storage rooms, out of sight.

The Metallic Barrage was furious, and charged towards Snake's hiding place without heed for his surroundings.

Which was why he didn't notice Raiden clinging to the rafters until it was far too late.

Raiden dropped down right behind Metallic Barrage and with a large, graceful sweep of his blade, severed The Metallic Barrage's weapon in half. In the same movement, he primed both the incendiary grenades and dropped them at The Metallic Barrage's feet.

"WHAT THE HELL!" screamed The Metallic Barrage – and then he saw it.

Both grenades detonated almost simultaneously. The Metallic Barrage was caught right between two high-heat explosions, which seared the skin off his body – and produced another phenomenon.

The intense heat generated by the explosions had caused the gunpowder in his belt of ammunition to spontaneously ignite. This was what most soldiers referred to as 'cooking off', and was lethal in The Metallic Barrage's case. His bullets fired off randomly, some of them going through him, some hitting other bullets and causing _them _to fire off, and some simply flying into the air. The Metallic Barrage's own bullets were killing him. Yet he still had it in him to make a final speech as the two men who had bested him approached his dying body.

"Snaaaaaake!" he called, "I seem to have underestimated you!"

Snake approached him, with his PDW raised. The Metallic Barrage's skin was charred, and in some places the metal from his bullets had melted and fused to his skin. His once-superb handlebar mustache was gone. His red beret was lying next to his head, it was starting to smoke.

"Snake…when I was serving during the war in Iraq…I was always at odds with the snipers I knew…they considered my methods…unrefined, too aggressive," he said. Snake didn't do anything. He made it a point to allow a person to have his last words.

"But I tell you…I had far more confirmed kills than any sniper. I was able to make my enemies tremble in fear. My enemies referred to me as 'The Walking Pillbox'. But you…you are different. You have no fear in combat. Your sole purpose is victory, and nothing will stand in your way. Know this, son of _Dawid bin Salah-ad-Din, _you are a far worthier opponent than any I have ever fought…and now, in death, I respect you…as an enemy…as a soldier…and as the man who bested The Metallic Barrage, The Walking Pillbox, The Scythe of Bullets."

With one trembling arm, The Metallic Barrage reached for his red beret – the only thing left of his distinguished uniform – and offered it to Snake, who accepted it.

The Metallic Barrage's arm dropped to the floor, his chest stopped moving, and his eyes closed. He was gone.

Snake stared at the body of his fallen enemy. Slowly, he got up, came to attention, and saluted. He stood like that, saluting a charred corpse, for a full fifteen seconds, before lowering his arm.

Snake and Raiden walked slowly out of the armory together. In his left hand, Snake clutched the red beret that The Metallic Barrage had given him. He stuffed the beret into a large pocket on his thigh, and shut the door of the armory, leaving the body of a once fierce soldier alone among that which both of them had known all their lives – weapons.


	8. Chapter 8: Noble Intentions

**Legacy of the Legend**

**Chapter 8: Noble Intentions**

The next floor down led into a hallway, at the end of which turned left. Snake and Raiden followed the hallway down to the end, at which they found a door. This door had the number '1' painted on it in white. Behind it was a large room.

Snake knew where he was instantly. To his right were four heavy steel doors with no numbers, and sure enough the card had no effect on them. He removed the key he had taken from Jason's pocket, and inserted it into the keyhole on the first door. He tried to open it, but the door didn't budge.

"Looks like that guard was right," muttered Snake. He pushed the key into a secondary keyhole, this one linked to the lock on a sliding window on the door. He slid the metal panel open. The inside was empty.

He tried the next two, without success.

It was the last one that finally gave him success. He slid the panel open, and as he did so, a female voice from inside called "Who's that?"

Snake slid the panel fully open. It was wide enough for his whole face to be seen, and he looked into the cell.

"Are you Anya Gurlukovich?" he asked the young girl inside. He could only see her face, as she was stood right up against the door.

"Who are you?" asked the girl, getting up off the bed. "Are you one of them?"

"No, I'm not. I was sent here to rescue you," Snake answered.

"Hmm…well, you don't look like one of them. Yeah, I'm Anya," she said.

"Any idea how I can get you out of there? Where can I find the master key?" Snake asked.

"The warden should have them. He's in a control post through the door on the other side of this room, but you'll need a level 2 security card to get inside there," Anya answered.

"A level 2? I only have a level 1. Where am I supposed to get a level 2?" asked Snake.

"I don't know. The guards that bring food usually have one. I tried to steal one once, but they caught me," said Anya.

"I'll think of something," Snake said, and closed the panel.

He didn't have to think long.

A guard came in through the level 1 door to the cell block. He had just registered that there were two people here who were definitely not supposed to be here, when both Snake and Raiden lifted their PDWs and fired extended bursts.

The guard shuddered under the impact of the rounds and fell back out the door-

-and four more guards rushed in with their guns drawn.

"Alert, hostiles encountered. Need backup in cell block one ASAP!" shouted one into his radio.

And then all hell broke loose.

Each guard let loose a hellish burst of gunfire. Snake managed to dive for cover behind a corner, while Raiden deflected the rounds headed towards him.

Snake poked his gun around the corner and fired blindly. He heard one guard let out a cry of pain, and poked his head around the corner. The guard had been hit in the arm and dropped his gun.

Raiden rushed forward with his sword tracing graceful arcs in the air. Two guards were slashed across the chest and another was dismembered. Raiden snatched up the weapon that the guard had dropped, and dashed back to the end of the room. Opening the panel on the cell door, he shoved the gun – another M34 PDW – into Anya's cell.

The first wave of guards was down. Snake thought the battle was over, but it was far from the end.

Suddenly, two small, cylindrical black objects appeared in the doorway. Both detonated, and the doorway was filled with a thick cloud of smoke. Bullets zipped out through the cloud and pinged on the wall behind.

Snake primed a fragmentation grenade and tossed it through the door. He heard a loud explosion and several people screamed. One was thrown bodily into the room and slammed against the opposite wall.

A third wave came in. Snake and Raiden sent a wall of hot lead towards their assailants – but they weren't the only ones. Anya had poked her gun out of the hatch on her cell door and added some more firepower to Snake and Raiden's onslaught. Unfortunately she wasn't too good at recoil control, and this had the unwelcome effect of sending not a controlled stream of bullets towards the enemy, but a wildly shaking leftwards sweep of gunfire.

Snake and Raiden dispatched the wave of guards, and Snake found enough time to yell "Anya, hold your fire, damn it!" before another wave of guards came in.

Raiden had had enough. He sprang upwards, and landed right in front of one guard. A quick upward slash had blood spraying vertically onto the ceiling. He followed with a low-aimed sweep and then a thrust, which cut a second guard's legs off and impaled him in the heart. Not pausing to wait for a new wave of enemies, Raiden charged out of the now-open door.

Snake didn't follow, but it was too easy to hear the terrified screams of the enemy soldiers, accompanied by a sudden, high-pitched hum as Raiden's blade cleaved through bone, as well as occasional yells of "What the hell is that thing!?" or "Shoot, goddamnit, shoot!" punctuated with the staccato cracks of automatic gunfire. Eventually all fell quiet.

Raiden walked back into the cell block. His exoskeleton was smeared all over with red, and Snake was surprised that he could even see out of his visor. Raiden sliced a small section off a dead guard's uniform, and used it to wipe the visor clean. He retracted the visor and examined his bloodied exoskeleton closely.

"Otacon is going to kill me," he finally said, which Snake considered to be the understatement of the century.

"Interesting, uh, tactics, if that killing rampage can be called tactical in any way…" Snake commented.

"Don't tell me you wanted to drag out the gunfight? How much ammo did you have left?"

Snake checked. "I was…down to my last full mag," he said.

"Exactly. Any longer and we would have run out. And then what?" Raiden said, tossing Snake four magazines full of ammunition.

"And I also happened to get this," he said, holding up a key.

"The master key for the cell block? Where did you get that from?" asked Snake.

"The warden was one of the guys out there," Raiden explained. He handed Snake a card with the number '2' written on it.

"I'll go to the control post. You can have the honour of releasing the damsel in distress," said Raiden, walking out the door marked '2'.

Snake waited a while to let Raiden get into position, and then inserted his key into the lock on Anya's cell.

"_Attempt to open cell A-7 detected. Awaiting confirmation from control room," _blared out a female voice over the speakers. It was soon followed by a second message, _"Attempt to open cell confirmed. Access granted."_

Anya's cell door slid open.

She was dressed in an orange prison uniform for high visibility. Her face was pale from being left unexposed to sunlight for so long. Her hair was obviously blonde underneath all the grit and dirt. There was a long, thin scar on her left cheek which looked fairly recent. She was shorter than Snake, and looked thin – probably from lack of good food. She stepped out into the cell block and looked Snake over.

"So…who the hell are you?" she asked. Despite her Russian parentage, her accent was American.

"Call me Snake. I have a real name…but you're not at liberty to know yet," Snake replied.

"Huh. All right…Snake. And who's the psycho ninja dude?" she continued.

"I resent being called a _psycho ninja dude_! My name's Raiden!" shouted Raiden, visibly affronted.

Anya chuckled at his outburst. Snake leaned in and whispered "He _is _a psycho ninja dude. Wait till you see him with that sword."

Raiden either didn't notice or pretended not to notice.

"So…what are you doing here, Snake?" Anya asked.

"Listen, Anya. Do you know anything about a weapon called Metal Gear?" asked Snake.

"M-Metal Gear? I've heard the guards talking about it when they're on a shift near my cell. I know it's some kind of tank which can fire nukes…but not much else," she answered, her voice faltering.

"Do you have any idea where on this base they keep it?" asked Snake.

"Sometimes they'll mention a place called the Northern Construction Warehouse. Sorry, though…I have no idea where that is. I've been locked up in this cell since they brought me here," Anya said.

"It's a good enough lead, Anya, thanks. We were supposed to come in here and rescue you, and then destroy Metal Gear. Hold on a second, I need to contact my base…"

**Snake: **_Otacon, you there?_

**Otacon: **_Snake! We heard gunfire just now – are you okay?_

**Snake: **_We're all fine, and we have Anya. What now?  
_

**Otacon: **_I'm putting the Colonel online, he'll tell you._

**Campbell: **_Snake, normally we would provide an immediate airlift rescue. The problem is, they have anti-aircraft guns mounted to cover every goddamned square inch of sky, and to top it off, a gunship and one hell of a hotshot pilot. An air rescue would be suicide._

**Snake: **_So what do you propose I do, Colonel?_

**Campbell: **_Take her to a remote location and tell her to wait there. Put a GPS transponder on her and we'll provide exfiltration ASAP._

**Snake: **_Copy that. Snake out._

"So, what's the plan?" asked Anya.

"We're supposed to leave you in a hiding place, one of our team will come along to get you out of here," Snake explained.

"No way! You helped me by letting me out. I want to repay the favour. I know a lot about this base…they brought me through some of the higher-security passages. I could scout them out, and I could find ammo and equipment for you…" Anya said.

"No. I'm not letting you get into any danger. How old are you anyway? Fourteen?" Snake replied firmly.

"Fifteen. And exactly why can't I help you?" Anya shot back, folding her arms.

"Because you're too young, and our mission was to _get you out of here safely," _Snake almost shouted.

"Too young? I happen to _know _that your psycho ninja partner learned how to use a gun when he was _eight. _I read it off some file about the Big Shell incident.And I can _help _you on your _other _mission," Anya said.

Raiden cut in. "Snake? I think it might actually be a good idea. I mean, we could cover more ground that way too…"

Snake lashed his body around. "Whose side are _you _on, Raiden?" he demanded furiously. Raiden kept silent, but Snake knew he was outmatched.

"Fine. We'll split up. Raiden, you should be able to go solo, so I'll take Anya," he conceded, grudgingly.

"Great. Hurry up, let's go," said Raiden.

"Wait a minute!" said Anya, and began to drag the corpse of a dead guard towards her cell?

"What are you doing?" asked Snake.

"I can't walk around in this prison uniform, they'll see me too easily. This guy looks about my size…" she said, as she removed the dead soldier's clothes.

She stood up with a bundle of olive drab clothing tucked under her arm. "Don't try and look into my cell," she warned, heading towards her cell. She went inside and shut the door.

Snake waited for a minute, and then got impatient. He walked over to Anya's cell and slid the panel open. He was rewarded with a split-second view of the girl wearing nothing except a bra and panties, before a half-loaded magazine hit him square in the nose.

"Ow! Jeez, what's taking so long?" he called, rubbing his nose.

"Shut up! And _you _try taking this damn prison suit off in less than a minute!" Anya retorted.

Eventually, Anya emerged from her cell wearing the uniform. Snake had to admit that she'd done a good job. With the balaclava on, nobody could tell that she wasn't a soldier, although she was slightly shorter than most.

"Not bad. You should be fine as long as you don't do anything suspicious. Oh, and keep that weapon on safe…I don't feel safe around you after seeing that little…demonstration…of your marksmanship skills," said Snake.

"Hey, I was under stress. I'm better when the thing is set to semi-auto…but who gives cover fire in semi auto?" replied Anya.

"That was cover fire?" Snake countered. Anya didn't answer.

Raiden broke the uncomfortable silence. "Alright. Snake, you take her and search the rest of this building. I'll scout around the rest of the island and buzz you on the codec if I find anything interesting."

"How are you going to move around without anybody finding you?" asked Snake.

"Oh, I forgot to mention. I found _this _little beauty down in the armoury," said Raiden, pulling out a small, rectangular object from a pocket. The item had a few pins and holes which looked like they connected to another object.

"Watch and be amazed," Raiden said. He inserted the object into a slot on his exoskeleton's left arm. Nothing happened for about five seconds. On the sixth, Raiden's body flashed white, and disappeared.

Snake drew his SOCOM so fast that it seemed to materialize in his hand. "Where the hell did you go!?" he barked.

"Calm down, buddy, I'm right here," replied the space where Raiden was standing. "This little thing is a stealth camouflage attachment. It bends light around the object it's connected to so that it becomes invisible to the naked eye. Plus, if I stay still for long enough, my suit can use its cooling system to mask my body temperature, so I'm invisible to thermal imaging. Useful little gadget…pity there was only one."

"All right. Let's get out of here and look for Metal Gear," Snake said.

They left the cell block, into a corridor which looked eerily familiar to the one that Solid Snake I had witnessed before his battle with Gray Fox.


	9. Chapter 9: Scouting the North

**Legacy of the Legend**

**Chapter 9: Scouting the North**

Snake and Anya left the cell block. Two flights of stairs and two dead guards later, they were out in open sunshine. The sun hung brightly overhead. The sea, to their left, sparkled green in the light, and the sand was soft. A flock of sea birds flew overhead. In any other situation the setting would have been peaceful.

After a mostly silent ten-minute walk, Anya spoke up. "You still haven't told me why you saved me," she said.

"It's kind of a long story," Snake said, looking around through his binoculars for any sign of an enemy.

"We have a really long walk. From what I saw when they brought me here, there are actually two islands divided by a huge ravine. They're connected by a bridge. The Northern Construction Warehouse is on that second island," said Anya.

Snake thought for a minute. It would take them at least an hour and a half to walk that far.

"Alright. First up, do you know your mother?" asked Snake.

"No…I know she died on the Big Shell, though…" Anya answered.

"Yeah. Your mother was an ally of my father and that _psycho ninja dude _on Big Shell. She was killed by a man who was my, ah, uncle, if you look at it that way. Her last request was for us to rescue you from the Patriots. Does that name sound familiar?" said Snake.

"The Patriots…I know about them, but nothing specific. Just that they're a bunch of people who rule over the whole world or something," said Anya.

"Pretty much. Now, I see a guard coming…get into a hiding spot and wait there," Snake ordered, spotting a patrolling sentry through his binoculars.

Snake ducked behind a tree. The guard moved closer and closer. When he was level with the tree, Snake sprang out from behind his cover. He slammed the butt of his pistol into the guard's temple. Taking advantage of the guard's momentary distraction, Snake wrapped his left leg around the guard's left ankle and staggered him off balance. He placed his knife at the guard's neck.

"Don't make a noise. You speak only when I ask you something, got it?"

The guard had enough bravado to mutter "Go to hell, bastard," in a low voice.

Snake was not prepared to deal with this in a peaceful way. He shifted the knife downwards and opened up a large, deep wound in the guard's right shoulder. The guard gasped in pain.

"You speak only when I ask you something, got it?" repeated Snake, in a more threatening voice.

The guard's breath came in sharp, ragged gasps. "Please…don't kill me," he breathed.

"In that case, tell me where Metal Gear Riker is," ordered Snake.

"Wh-what? What are you talking about?" gasped the sentry.

"_Metal Gear. _Your boss' walking, flying, nuclear missile-launching deathmobile!" growled Snake, beginning to lose his patience.

"I-I don't know. They don't tell us that kind of stuff! You'd need to ask one of the boss' lieutenants…but you'll never get anything out of them! All I can tell you is that it's probably in the warehouse up north!" said the guard.

"Well…if that's all you can tell me…I see no use for you any more," said Snake, plunging the knife into the guard's throat and dragging it across. The guard fell to the ground, blood leaking out of the neck wound.

Snake rifled through the man's pockets, extracting a few magazines of ammunition and a key card with access to Level 2 areas. He passed the card to Anya and divided the magazines between them.

Raiden hailed them on the codec.

**Raiden: **_Snake, you there?_

**Snake: **_Yeah. I just interrogated a sentry. Apparently the grunts know nothing about Metal Gear – I guess that's need-to-know information._

**Raiden: **_I just held up three guards and figured as much. All of them say probably here, probably there. Two said the Northern Construction Warehouse, the other one pissed himself and started crying and I couldn't get anything out of him._

**Snake: **_You seem to have that effect on people._

**Raiden: **_I'm heading north to check it out. You coming?_

**Snake: **_Yeah. Let me get Otacon to check it out on his satellite first…_

---

**Snake: **_This is Snake. Otacon, can you hear me?_

**Otacon: **_Loud and clear. What's up, Snake?_

**Snake: **_I need you to run a check on the satellite image for this island. Anya mentioned a bridge connecting to another island up north. Can you tell me anything about it?_

**Otacon: **_One minute…let me look._

Otacon, in the computer room on the island, stared at a Google Earth map of the island.

**Otacon: **_Looks like the info is legit…there's a long bridge leading across a ravine to another island. From what I can see, the island is mostly covered by a large building. I think you're headed to the right place._

**Snake: **_Gotcha. Thanks._

Snake cut the transmission to Otacon, and spoke to Raiden.

**Snake: **_Raiden, news from Otacon. This warehouse seems to be legit. I'll meet up with you later outside the armory._

**Raiden: **_Copy that. I'll be there in five minutes._

Snake cut the transmission and headed back towards the building he had just left.

Raiden was waiting for them, fully visible, when they met up outside the armory.

"The Metallic Barrage…is he…?" Snake started to ask.

"Door's jammed, I think on purpose. Ocelot's men must have sealed it off to stop us getting access to their weapons. Shame we didn't nab a few of those sniper rifles," Raiden replied.

"Hmm. I didn't actually want to see him again myself," said Snake, absentmindedly fingering the beret that the dying soldier had given him.

He returned to the mission at hand. "Do you have any idea how to get to this northern place?" he asked Raiden.

"I got Otacon to upload a digital map of the island to my helmet's HUD. I know the way there. There's a catch, though, the bridge is guarded on both ends. Serious stuff. They've got snipers stationed on towers every ten meters, some of those towers have RPGs, and they have checkpoints on both ends with _machinegun turrets," _Raiden said. His voice wasn't the usual positive, upbeat Raiden. It was more of the pessimistic, _this-is-suicide _Raiden.

Snake had listened to this terrifying recital of their enemy's armament without faltering. "Alright," he said, "but what's the catch?"


	10. Chapter 10: Deadly Accuracy

**Legacy of the Legend**

**Chapter 10: Deadly Accuracy**

Snake, Raiden and Anya hid in some dense foliage. The bridge stretched out in front of them, almost 200 meters in length. Just as Raiden had described, there were observation towers every 10 or so meters along its length.

"You see? _You see?_ I told you. I _told you _this was impossible," snapped Raiden, irritated and scared at the same time.

"What? This is scary? Didn't you fight three Metal Gears at the same time? Just stick to the plan, and we'll be fine," said Snake reassuringly.

"Oh yeah, stick to _the plan. _I'll have you know that _the plan _is something I like to call suicidal. _The plan _is physically impossible. In classical _and _quantum physics," Raiden almost shouted.

"Keep your voice down. And go, on my signal. Just like we discussed," said Snake, assuming his position of leader.

"This had better work," muttered Raiden, cloaking himself. There was nothing to indicate his presence except a distortion in the air like a heat shimmer…and, if someone happened to be wearing thermal goggles, a human-shaped heat blur. But that would disappear in around twenty seconds, provided that Raiden stood still.

"Three…" Snake counted. Raiden tensed himself, ready to run.

"Two…"

Raiden stared forward, sweat dripping down his face.

"One! Go!" Snake ordered, and Raiden sprang into a run towards the bridge, invisible.

Raiden jumped over the barrier that was the checkpoint on this end of the bridge. Nobody saw him. He ran to the base of the first tower on the left, and jumped up, grabbing onto a ledge. Hauling himself onto the ledge, he sprang upwards again and managed to catch onto the floor of the observation deck.

The sniper on this tower was looking away from him. Raiden unsheathed his blade, making it visible in the process, and drove it up to the hilt into the sniper's body. He grabbed the man's rifle. It was a P33 Widowmaker, a semi-automatic sniper rifle. It was painted matte black, with a few hints of grey. It was configured in a bullpup configuration, which allowed for a long barrel in a relatively compact weapon.

Raiden jumped off the tower, landing on the bridge itself. The fall didn't hurt. He hugged the rifle close to him so that it was covered by the stealth field. He ran back to their hiding place, his antics having gone completely unnoticed.

Raiden shimmered back into visibility. "Shit…that was one hell of a close one," he breathed.

"So what kind of physics were you using back there?" Snake quipped.

"Ok, fine, so that part wasn't too hard. You think it'll be easy again?" Raiden muttered.

"Of course I do. They didn't notice the first time. Go. Grab us an RPG!" Snake said.

Raiden performed the routine yet again and returned with an RL-37 Firestorm rocket launcher. The Firestorm was a four-barrel, yet man-portable rocket launcher. It was designed to fire HEAT, (High Explosive Anti Tank) rounds. He handed the launcher to Snake.

"Alright," Snake said, clicking the dial on the launcher to set it to fire the first, upper left, tube. "Let's see if we can cause some damage. Raiden, you remember the plan?"

"Sure," said Raiden. Anya clung onto his back. The extra weight didn't slow Raiden down thanks to his exoskeleton.

"As soon as I fire this, run like hell. I'm going to take out the turret on this end," Snake said, peering through the targeting scope on the side of the launcher.

"Three…" he counted. His finger tensed.

"Two…" he continued. He held his breath.

"One!"

Snake's finger pulled back the trigger on the rocket launcher. A streak of smoke erupted from the top left barrel of the weapon and spiraled its way towards the near end of the bridge.

The guards on the southern checkpoint had an easy job. Nothing much happened. It was usually a simple matter of letting a truck laden with god-knows-what through after politely requesting the driver – at gunpoint – for sir to please show them some ID. And if sir refused, or couldn't, there was always plenty of watchful tower guards with sniper rifles and RPGs. And the machinegun turret, a larger-scale model of what the Metallic Barrage used. Although they'd never had to use the turret and so nobody manned it.

Which was why nobody could get inside the turret before a rocket blew it – and them – to smithereens.

Snake was running before the rocket had flown ten meters. He sprinted away from the bridge, following Raiden and Anya. He stopped running after around twenty seconds and looked back.

"Did you get them?" asked Raiden, who was panting from running so hard just now.

"Yeah, from the looks of it. Listen, those snipers are going crazy," Snake replied. He was right. The _crack _of sniper fire was so frequent it sounded like gunfire from a machine gun.

"Any chance they'll hit us?" asked Raiden, nervous. He was covering Anya, who was lying on the ground out of breath, with his body to shield her from the bullets.

"Don't think so. They're aiming at where the smoke trail came from," said Snake.

"Guess so. So what's the next part of the plan, Snake?"

"I have three rounds left in this beauty. How many rounds do you have in that rifle?"

"Twenty in this mag, I have two more full ones," reported Raiden.

"More than enough. I'm thinking we need to put this entire bridge out of commission," Snake said, deep in thought.

"Why don't you give me the launcher? You can snipe them off, and I'll give them a distraction," suggested Raiden.

"Sounds good. Go for the towers with snipers on them. Try to aim for the middle of the bridge. Save one rocket for the checkpoint at the other end. Don't stay in one place after you take a shot," Snake said, "You got that?"

"Sniper, middle, rocket, checkpoint. Got it," Raiden replied, running off.

"Anya, come with me. It's safer than going with Raiden. Can you carry this for me?" he asked, handing her the Widowmaker. She slung it over her shoulder.

"Let's go somewhere where they can't see us. Somewhere dark," Anya suggested.

"Who taught you about camouflage?" Snake asked, turning around to look at her.

"Ah, you pick up some useful tips here and there," she said.

"Hmm. You're a smart kid. Good idea," said Snake, giving her a brief smile.

Snake snapped around at the sound of a huge explosion. He saw the third tower from the south end of the bridge, on the left, engulfed by a huge fireball, followed by a triumphant voice on his codec.

**Raiden: **_Ha-hah! Bullseye!_

**Snake: **_Run! And remember to keep one for the checkpoint!_

Snake took cover behind a log. He swept some dried, fallen leaves over himself and Anya as rudimentary camouflage. He handed the binoculars to Anya.

"Here, take these. You can be my spotter," he said, peering through the 40x scope on his Widowmaker.

"I do what?" asked Anya, confused.

"Snipers generally work in pairs. One shoots, and the other one calls the targets. Look through the binoculars at the towers, and tell me which ones you think are the most important to take care of," Snake explained.

"Ok…hmm…let's see. There. That one on the right, second from the far end," she said, "I think he's firing at Raiden."

Snake briefly took aim and let fly a single round. Through his scope, he saw the round find its mark – right between his target's eyes. The man was thrown backwards by the force of the bullet, and he fell off the tower, landing on the bridge with a sickening crunch – not that any of the three heroes heard it.

"Nice shot, Snake," said Anya.

"Thanks. Good calling," Snake replied. "That's not the best I can do…watch this. Call me another one."

"On the right. Third from this end," said Anya, without looking away from her binoculars.

Snake sighted on the man and fired. This one was wielding a Firestorm launcher. Snake's bullet hit the man in the hand, and it was clear that there was now _no _hand. The man dropped the launcher, grabbing his stump of a wrist in agony. Snake put another round in his neck.

Anya was smirking slightly. "Trying to impress me, Snake?" she asked, with a sideways grin.

"Well, am I doing all right?" he countered.

"Pretty good. Middle one on the left," she replied. Now _really _wasn't the time for him to be hitting on her.

Snake took aim at his called target and was about to shoot when a rocket slammed into the tower. Chunks of stone flew in all directions.

**Snake: **_Good shot. You have one left, save it. Use the remote control setting to direct it along the bridge. And make sure they don't shoot it down!_

**Raiden: **_Relax, Snake, I know what I'm doing. You ok?_

**Snake: **_I'm fine._

Snake shouldered his rifle again and went back to work.

"Right, seventh from here!" shouted Anya, and her voice was panicked. Snake took aim and discovered why – the man was aiming right at them. Snake fired off two rounds. One went wide, but the other one went into the enemy sniper's scope and hit him in the eye. He fell backwards, off the tower, and landed in the ravine below.

Anya was visibly stunned. "Ok, now I'm impressed. That was a good one," she said.

"Good call. Never saw him," Snake muttered.

Snake sighted on the far end of the bridge. The checkpoint and turret were both smoking ruins. Raiden had obviously done his job right. Snake, with Anya's help, managed to clear the rest of the towers without any significant resistance. The tower guards were obviously panicking far too much to be effective.

The last guard fell dead and Snake moved his eye away from the scope. As he released a breath that he'd held before taking that last shot, his codec beeped.

_Very good, Solid Snake. Very good indeed…_


	11. Chapter 11: A Test of Marksmanship

**Legacy of the Legend**

**Chapter 11: A Test of Marksmanship**

Snake had never heard that voice before, codec or otherwise. And he had no idea how whoever it was had gotten his frequency.

**Snake: **_What the hell…Who are you!?_

**UNKNOWN: **_All in good time, Snake…all in good time. And I suggest you duck._

Snake ducked, and heard the tree behind him take a hit from a very large caliber weapon in its trunk. Wood splinters rained down all around him and Anya.

**UNKNOWN: **_Let's call this a test of your marksmanship skills, Snake…for I am the Unseen Seer! The greatest sniper the world has ever known!_

Snake quickly patched Raiden into the conversation, along with a quick signal – two short bursts of static – to tell him to listen but not speak.

**The Unseen Seer: **_No, no need to say anything more, Snake. My reputation precedes me. I see you have survived the first part of my little…test. Now begins the second half. Look sharp!_

The sniper cut the transmission, and Snake found no answer when he tried calling the frequency again. He opened a transmission to the Colonel and Raiden.

**Snake: **_Colonel, who the hell is this guy?_

**Campbell: **_The Unseen Seer is the – somewhat flawed – result of a number of experiments to create the perfect long-range sniper. His skin tone can adjust to his surroundings, which enables him to hide from enemies better. He can force all or some of his muscles to lock up whenever he chooses, so his hands never tremble when he shoots. But worst of all, he needs no sighting equipment. His eyes are telescopic, able to focus on any given object as if he were standing right in front of it. He could spot a mosquito flying from a kilometer away._

**Snake: **_What the hell!?_

**Raiden: **_I concur. What the HELL!?_

**Campbell: **_Snake, you have a sniper rifle. My guess is that he's firing at you from across the bridge. I know how good a marksman you are – you should be able to hit him back. Raiden, I suggest you run decoy and turn the Unseen Seer's attention away from Snake. His bullets create a very noticeable smoke trail. Use that to your advantage!_

Raiden sprang upwards and forwards, his blade drawn and at the ready. Suddenly, his blade was up in front of his visor and a white trail had appeared between it and the hill on the far side of the bridge. The trail had angled away at 90 degrees where the bullet had struck the blade.

Snake quickly sighted on the source of the trail, and he saw a pale figure dressed in woodland camouflage hiding behind a tree and holding a long, slender, scopeless rifle. He took aim, mentally adjusting for the light breeze, their height difference and the distance between them, and squeezed the trigger.

Through his scope, Snake saw the round impact on the tree. It had struck a very thin part of the tree, and Snake saw the figure flinch slightly. He'd scored a hit.

**The Unseen Seer: **_Excellent shot, Snake…although you'll have to hit harder than that to kill me. That bullet didn't even penetrate!_

Snake ignored him. He took aim again. Nothing.

Snake pulled his eye away from the scope and saw two more smoke trails ricochet off Raiden's sword. He focused on the pale figure again and fired.

The round hit his enemy…in the thigh.

_Damn it, not enough adjustment for bullet drop. And that __gust I just felt…it's as if the weather is on his side. But that's insane!_

**The Unseen Seer: **_I felt that shot, Snake! But hitting non-vital areas won't help!_

Snake was about to fire again when his arm exploded with pain. As he screamed in pain, he saw that his left upper arm had taken a hit in the bicep, and the bullet had gone right through. The bullet was a small flechette, only 4mm wide. That's not to say it didn't hurt.

"Snake!" shouted Anya, from her hiding place inside a hollow log. She dived out of it and dragged Snake back inside the log, opening up his backpack and retrieving the medical kit.

"What…are you…doing?" Snake gasped.

"Saving your life. Now shut up and hold still," she replied, cleaning the wound quickly and expertly with antiseptic cream. It stung like hell. She wiped the blood off the outside of the wound, and tied it incredibly tight with a bandage.

"Thanks…" Snake said, weakly.

"No problem. Now get out there and take that bastard down!" said Anya, encouragingly.

Snake was about to crawl out of the log, but Anya pulled him back.

"What?" he asked?

Anya kissed him on the cheek.

"Just for luck," she muttered, slowly turning red.

Snake smiled, briefly, and crawled out of the log, pressing himself against the side of a large tree for cover.

Snake peered through his scope and saw the Unseen Seer firing intermittently at a figure he couldn't see. Snake guessed it was Raiden. Snake knew he couldn't hit the Unseen Seer, his angle was all wrong. But then he saw the tree behind his enemy and an idea formed in his mind.

He angled the rifle upwards, did a brief adjustment for windage, distance and elevation, and fired three rounds…at the part of the tree where a heavy-looking branch joined the trunk.

His three shots were enough. The branch splintered at the joint and came crashing down. A few seconds after it landed, Snake heard a voice on his codec. A voice lined with the sounds of a man in pain.

**The Unseen Seer: **_No! Damn you, Snake!_

The exclamation was followed by the most unsniperlike hailstorm of bullets Snake had ever seen from a marksman, as the tree trunk he was hiding behind took a dozen hits to the trunk. Splinters of wood flew everywhere and small branches came crashing down. But Snake was safe. Over the codec, he heard a series of clicking noises.

It was a while before the Unseen Seer realized that he had run out of ammo.

Snake stepped out from behind his cover and took aim exactly where he had been aiming previously. He moved to the right until his enemy was no longer behind cover.

The Unseen Seer was trapped underneath the branch. A particularly sharp protrusion had impaled his left hand, and the branch itself had broken his leg.

Snake brought the scope of his rifle to his eyes. He adjusted it to maximum zoom, and fixed the crosshairs on the Unseen Seer's forehead. The air was still, no windage adjustment was needed. Distance and elevation were easy to allow for.

Snake's finger curled on the trigger. He started to pull it back-

-when suddenly, without any apparent reason, the Unseen Seer took a direct hit to the torso.

Snake quickly lowered the rifle and looked around wildly for the shooter. Down on the beach, he saw a hooded figure holster a sniper rifle on his back and sprint away.

Snake focused on the figure through his scope. The man was dressed in a black trench coat, with no apparent regard for the heat. His hood was up. As he ran away from the scene of the battle, he suddenly vanished into thin air.

Snake looked away from his scope, confused. For the fourth time in the past hour, Snake thought to himself, _what the hell?_

**Raiden: **_Snake? Did you make that kill-shot?_

**Snake: **_No…did you see some hooded guy wearing a black trench coat anywhere?_

**Raiden: **_Yeah…he vanished before I could catch up with him. Stealth camo, I think._

**Snake: **_Anyway…apparently he's an enemy of our enemy, which has to be good. Let's go, I'll meet you at the bridge._

Snake made his way down to the bridge, where Raiden was waiting. Together, they crossed the bridge, encountering no resistance at all.

At the other end of the bridge the terrain angled upwards, creating a hill. At the top of the hill was a steep, downward slope, at the bottom of which rested their destination. The Northern Construction Warehouse.

"So that's it?" said Snake, feeling slightly skeptical. The place was only guarded by two towers overlooking the main gate…towers which were not manned as of five seconds and two bullets ago.

"Must be…and I bet inside security is tight. Let's go," answered Raiden.

Snake turned around to address their other companion. "Anya…I have a bad feeling about this. Go back and hide under the bridge," he said, and Anya, in a move that was completely against her character, obeyed.

"Wow," said Raiden, after Anya was out of earshot, "you're pretty good with the ladies."

Snake's face took on a slight red tinge. "Shut up and move in, Raiden."

And the two of them made their way down the hill. There was a side entrance near the main gate, a flimsy door which offered no resistance to Raiden's blade. Snake kicked the door open and went in gun first.

The room was empty.


	12. Chapter 12: A Bad Feeling

**Legacy of the Legend**

**Chapter 12: A Bad Feeling**

"What the hell?" muttered Snake, and not for the first time. "Raiden, search around…there might be a route downstairs."

"Gotcha," said Raiden, and he began to slowly walk around the room with his blade at the ready.

The room, apart from a few crates piled in random areas, was empty. There was nothing that even closely resembled a Metal Gear.

"Snake…I have a bad feeling about this…" Raiden moaned.

"Raiden, you always have a bad feeling about something. Cut it out. You find anything?" Snake countered. Raiden's _bad feelings _and overall pessimistic attitude were beginning to annoy him.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Snake…I think we've been tricked. Metal Gear isn't here," said Raiden, scanning the whole room for any elevators or stairs.

And as soon as he finished that sentence, all the lights went out.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Snake muttered.

He was right.

"Hah hah hah…well, well, well. Who knew the legendary Snake would be so easy to trap?" came an unfamiliar voice from somewhere in the room.

"What the hell!? Who was that?" shouted Snake.

"I should be asking you that! You're not Solid Snake…and the other two are dead. Who do you think you are? _Liquidus? _Hah!" the voice mocked Snake.

"You call yourself a stealth fighter…a covert operative! Yet I remain hidden, and I can see you clear as day. For I am the Shadowed Darkness!" shouted the voice again, and now Snake and Raiden both knew whom they faced.

"Liquidus…or whatever you call yourself. Have a glimpse of me…before you die," said the Shadowed Darkness, and the lights came on, minimally.

Snake got the shock of his life when he realized that his enemy was standing right in front of him. The Shadowed Darkness was dressed, fittingly, all in black. His suit resembled Snake's sneaking suit, except for the fact that there were far fewer pockets and that it appeared far more streamlined. The Shadowed Darkness wore a black balaclava, and with it a strange pair of goggles with only one apparent eye hole over his right eye.

"Thermal goggles…no wonder you can see in the dark," Snake said.

"Thermal goggles?! Pathetic fool! I need no such crude implements to see in total darkness!" screamed the Shadowed Darkness, flipping up his goggles. And what Snake saw there chilled him to the bone.

The Shadowed Darkness' eyes barely looked like eyes. What would have been the whites of a normal person's eyes were deep crimson, his irises were orange, and in the middle were two white dots which were apparently pupils.

"Hah! Yes! Tremble, mortal, for you look into the eyes of death!" spat the Shadowed Darkness.

"And now…we begin," announced the Shadowed Darkness, and the room turned pitch black once more.

Snake had Campbell on the line before he started running.

**Snake: **_Colonel, a little help here!_

**Campbell: **_Otacon can explain this better, I'm patching him in._

**Otacon: **_The Shadowed Darkness. Last remaining product of the Phantom project. He's a soldier specially engineered to be extremely effective in total darkness, and-_

**Snake: **_His eyes! What the fuck is up with his eyes!_

**Otacon: **_Calm down, Snake. One of the enhancements he was given was to naturally see in thermal vision. Those goggles he wears – they allow him to see __**normally**__. Without them on, he sees everything like you would see things while wearing thermal goggles._

**Campbell: **_Snake, if you had a source of extreme heat, you could blind him temporarily. Don't use your silencer; the muzzle flash could distract him. Keep the tactical flashlight on your PDW on at all times!_

Snake already had that idea; the flashlight mounted to the right of his weapon's barrel was already on. Beside him, he saw Raiden had his helmet-mounted lights at full brightness.

Snake looked to the left and saw those demonic eyes staring at him from the depths of the darkness. He raised his PDW and fired a burst.

"Gaahh! Damn it!" shouted the Shadowed Darkness, and the two pinpricks of red disappeared.

_A hit, I think. Or my flashlight blinded him. So his eyes emit light…that makes this fight a tiny bit easier._

Snake primed a High Explosive grenade, held it for three seconds, and threw it high in the air. The explosion briefly lit up the warehouse.

"Augh! My eyes!" came a scream from somewhere to Snake's left, and he pivoted around.

"Raiden, cover my six!" he barked, and felt his partner's exoskeleton press against his back. Snake unleashed half his magazine in the direction the sound had come from, and was rewarded with a grunt of pain escaping from his enemy.

"Finally! I was wondering when you would score a hit, Liquidus!" the Shadowed Darkness jeered.

Two silenced shots answered Snake's barrage, tracing two thin lines of orange through the darkness.

"What?!" shouted the Shadowed Darkness, "which idiot loaded my weapon with tracers?!"

_So now we have yet another advantage. Tracers work both ways. But surely anybody would know not to load a stealth fighter with tracer ammunition. Something isn't right here._

Enraged, the Shadowed Darkness fired two more rounds, which Raiden deflected with his blade.

"Over here, Liquidus!" shouted the Shadowed Darkness, and Snake pivoted-

-only to be thrown back by the force of a body flying into him. The Shadowed Darkness had decided to go close-range, and was wielding a long – the blade must have been a whole foot – tanto-shaped knife. The blade was, of course, black.

The Shadowed Darkness slashed and opened up a wound on Snake's right cheek.

"You _son of a bitch!_" barked Snake, giving his assailant a huge shove, freeing himself. Snake slid out a combat knife and his SOCOM pistol, triggering the flashlight module under the barrel. Standing right in front of him was the Shadowed Darkness.

Enraged, Snake lunged forward with the knife. It caught in the Shadowed Darkness' right sleeve. But before Snake could pull his enemy close enough to apply a deadly CQC technique, the Shadowed Darkness had freed himself from Snake's knife and knocked Snake down.

Raiden sprang forwards and delivered a devastating downward slash which would have carved the Shadowed Darkness clean in two had he not managed to parry with his knife.

"High frequency vibration generator…in a blade that small?" Raiden muttered in disbelief. It was true, ordinary metal would have been sheared in half upon contact with Raiden's blade…the only weapon that could withstand its cut being another high-frequency blade.

The Shadowed Darkness didn't respond, at least not verbally. What he did do was dive forward, tackling Raiden to the ground, before using Raiden's body as a platform to spring into the air and land on his feet.

"And I am victorious…and now, you die," he announced, raising his weapon to point at Snake's head.

"Goodbye, Liquidus. A shame that I never learned your real name…" he gloated.

But just before he pulled the trigger, the entire warehouse was flooded with light.

"What-aaargh!" shouted the Shadowed Darkness, as the blinding heat of the floodlights seared his thermal eyes.

"Eat _shit!_" screamed a voice from the open doorway, followed by two gunshots.

The Shadowed Darkness was hit in the shoulder, a mere flesh wound, and in the head, which was fatal. He jerked back, and seemed to fall in slow motion as if through water. His right arm released his gun, which clattered to the floor, and his left arm rose in front of him, as if he was trying to reach for and grab hold of his own life.

His body thudded against the floor, bounced slightly, and came to rest. Blood pooled around him.

Anya Gurlukovich stood in the doorway, with an M34 PDW held against her shoulder. The unsilenced weapon was still smoking.

Snake and Raiden slowly got up.

"Damn it, kid, that's the second time in the past hour that you've saved my life," he said, looking at the teenage girl in the doorway.

"Ahh…my head…" groaned Raiden, as he staggered back up onto his feet.

Snake walked over to the Shadowed Darkness, and picked up his fallen enemy's combat knife.

"Let's call it a trophy," he muttered, glaring into his enemy's eyes, which were now dim, but still retained their unnatural colour.

Snake stood over his enemy's body for a while, deep in thought. He paid no notice when Raiden warned him that they had to go.

"Liquidus…" he said eventually, "I like that name."

"Raiden…Anya…wait for me outside. There's something I have to take care of," he called, and the two of them left.

Snake turned back to his fallen enemy.

Raiden and Anya walked back outside, into the afternoon sunlight.

"What made you decide to come into the warehouse?" asked Raiden.

"Let's just say I had a bad feeling about it," she replied.

"Surprise, surprise…" Raiden muttered under his breath.

Snake emerged from the warehouse. Yet he didn't look like Snake at all. This Snake was clad in the garb of his fallen enemy, complete with the goggles.

Raiden and Anya were speechless. "Snake? You're kidding me, right?" Raiden asked, incredulous.

"Call me Liquidus," said the man who formerly answered to the name of Snake.

"Ok…Liquidus…why exactly are you wearing the Shadowed Darkness' sneaking suit?" Raiden demanded.

"Just think of it as a trophy…after all, what about your dog tag collection?" Snake – no, _Liquidus – _countered.

"I have to admit…it looks pretty good on him," said Anya.

"Enough about my new look. Check this beauty out," he said, showing them both the gun that the Shadowed Darkness had been using against them.

"Amazing…It's like a cross between a pistol and a rifle. The trigger guard is enlarged to the point of being a full handguard, the front of which also serves as a guidance rail to insert the magazine. The stock is fully retractable so you can use it easier in tight quarters. There's a thread on the barrel for a quick-attach silencer, and a red-dot sight. There's no doubt about it…this is a tool for pros," he said.

"What caliber does it take?" asked Raiden.

"6.8mm Remington SPC," Liquidus replied. "It's got a model number too…XM11 Phalanx…"

**Liquidus: **_Mean anything to you, Otacon?_

**Otacon: **_I heard some rumours…it was something to do with making weapons exclusively for Special Forces. They were developing weapons that you'd never see in the regular military…things like darts which could be fired into a target and then remote activated to release a toxin, spring-loaded combat knives, and battle rifles chambered in .50AE ammunition. The theory being that the regular army grunt doesn't have the skill to handle weapons like those, so the trained professionals get them exclusive. All the projects were eventually cancelled, though._

**Liquidus: **_So what's mine like?_

**Otacon: **_What you're wielding right now is the XM11, so named because it was the eleventh project they were working on. It's a super-cut-down assault rifle, and fires 6.8mm rounds from a 24-round magazine. You have modes for safety, single-shot and three-round burst. Fires from a closed bolt, and can operate underwater until a depth of a hundred metres. In burst mode, it fires so fast that the bullets hit the target almost all at the same time, which gives it huge stopping power. The recoil dampener in the grip helps to deal with the kick-back._

**Liquidus: **_Sounds pretty damn good…why cancel it?_

**Otacon: **_Impractical, apparently. It's too large to replace a sidearm with it and no point replacing a standard rifle with it, or so the Special Forces guys say. Personally, I think it's much better than any standard weapon you'll find on that island, so keep it close._

**Liquidus: **_Thanks, Otacon. I'll keep that in mind._

**Otacon: **_No problem. Good luck, Snake._

**Liquidus: **_Call me Liquidus, Otacon._

**Otacon: **_Liquidus? Hmm…I like it. It's got a nice ring to it._

Raiden, having heard it all, rolled his eyes. Anya grinned at the black-clad soldier as they made their way back across the bridge.


End file.
